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Encyclopedia :
B :
BA :
BAY :
Bay Area Rapid Transit |
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Bay Area Rapid TransitBART (in full, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District) is a rapid transit electric train service that serves parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, including the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Fremont, and Walnut Creek. It also serves San Francisco International Airport directly via a station in the new International Terminal (Garage G/BART) and Oakland International Airport with connecting AirBART bus service. In 2004 BART was named the #1 Transit System in America by the American Public Transportation Association. It beat out such systems as New York City's MTA, the 2001 winner, and Denver's Regional Transportation District, the 2003 winner. The BART acronym is pronounced as a single word, not as individual letters. History of BARTBART is the #1 transit system in America for 2004 The BART system was first proposed in 1946 by Bay Area business leaders concerned with increased post-war migration and congestion in the region. An Army-Navy task force concluded that another trans-bay crossing would soon be needed to relieve congestion on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The idea of an underwater electric rail tube was deemed the best solution in conjunction with a multiple-county rapid transit rail system. Much of BART's current territory was earlier covered by the Key Rail System, an electrified streetcar (light rail) network that had its origins in the 1900s and ran across the lower deck of the Bay Bridge when it first opened; however, this system was removed in the 1950s due to the combined pressure of declining ridership and the automotive industry and highway planners. After years of review and planning, BART construction officially began on June 19, 1964. President Lyndon Johnson presided over the ground-breaking ceremonies at a 4.4 mile (7.1 km) test track between Concord and Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County. Enormous construction tasks were at hand, including underground rail sections below downtown Oakland and Market Street in San Francisco, a 3.5 mile (5.6 km) tunnel through the Berkeley Hills, as well as the 3.6 mile (5.8 km) transbay tube itself, which was lowered to the bottom of the bay by a small armada of construction vessels. The tube, constructed in 57 sections, was completed in August 1969 at a cost of $180 million. BART began regular passenger service on September 11, 1972. President Richard Nixon rode the system on September 27, 1972. The Transbay Tube between Oakland and San Francisco opened nearly two years later on September 16, 1974. In January 1979, an electrical fire broke out on a train traveling in the transbay tube, killing one firefighter. Service was halted for over two months. The trains were more flammable than permitted by current code. Since then, BART holds regular fire drills and has used fire-resistant seating in its trains. Current train routesCurrent routes as of September, 2004:
As a first generation system, BART's automation was plagued with numerous operational problems during its first years of service. Shortly before revenue service began an on-board electronics failure caused one empty 2-car test train, dubbed the “Fremont Flyer” to run off the end of the platform at its namesake station into a parking lot (there were no injuries). When revenue service began, “ghost trains” were common and real trains could, at times, disappear from the system. During this shakedown period there were several embarrassing episodes where trains had to be manually run and signaled via station agents communicating by phone. This caused an great outcry in the press and led to a flurry of litigation among some of the original controls contractors, but in time these problems were resolved and BART became a reliable service. BART compared with other rail transit systemsLike many late 20th century transit systems, BART's primary goal was to connect outlying suburbs with job centers in Oakland and San Francisco by paralleling established commute routes on the region's freeway system. It was not intended to provide a dense level of service such as the New York or London metros. In San Francisco, underground and streetcar service by Muni provide local service. However, Muni trains are not coordinated with BART schedules, require a separate ticket for the majority of passengers, and have relatively sparse coverage compared with other major cities. There is fare coordination between Muni and BART in that Muni monthly pass holders are permitted to use BART for free within San Francisco city limits and BART passengers can purchase an add on pass for a half month that allows unlimited rides on Muni. stations are mostly "park and rides" spaced at distances of typically at least 2 miles (3 km) apart with 15 to 20 minute service intervals in the peak and off-peak hours, respectively. Urban stations are roughly one-half mile (800 m) apart and have 2.5 – 5 minute service intervals at peak times. As such, some sources consider BART to be more of a regional commuter service. However, BART does possess all of the features of a true metro system (eg. electrified third rail propulsion with exclusive (grade-separated) right-of-way, frequent headway service and pre-paid fare card access), thus other sources consider it more of a hybrid metro-commuter system, functioning more as a metro in the central business districts of San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, and as commuter rail in outlying areas. Current and future extension of the BART systemA $1.5 billion extension of BART southward beyond Colma was completed in June 2003. Ground was broken in November 1997, and the extension added four new stations in South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae (with a cross-platform connection to Caltrain, the first of its kind west of the Mississippi River), and San Francisco International Airport. The project encompasses 8.7 miles (14 km) of new rail track, of which 6.1 miles (9.8 km) is subway, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) is aerial, and 1.4 miles (2.2 km) is at-grade. [1] [1] An extension of BART southward past Fremont to the Warm Springs District in southern Fremont is in the planning and engineering stage by BART planning staff. A further extension towards San Jose is also proposed by the transit district south of BART, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, but preliminary engineering remains to be completed and funding to be acquired. SFBARTD is a special governmental district created by the State of California consisting of Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and San Francisco County. It is governed by an elected Board of Directors, and each of the nine directors represents a specific geographic district with the BART district. BART has its own police force. The original district included Marin County and San Mateo County but they opted out of the District before construction began. In total, the SFBARTD encompasses the incorporated and unincorporated cities of Alameda, Alamo, Albany, Antioch, Bay Point, Bethel Island, Berkeley, Brentwood, Byron, Castro Valley, Clayton, Clyde, Concord, Crockett, Danville, Discovery Bay, Dublin, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Hercules, Kensington, Knightsen, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Newark, Oakland, Oakley, Orinda, Pacheco, Piedmont, Pleasanton, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Port Costa, Rodeo, Richmond, San Francisco, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, San Pablo, San Ramon, Sunol, Union City and Walnut Creek. While the district includes all of these cities in its jurisdiction, the BART system only has stations in a few of these cities. Oakland Airport Connector project Planning is currently underway for a people mover that would directly connect the Coliseum station to the terminal buildings at Oakland International Airport. This connection would physically resember the AirTrain connection to New York City's JFK Airport, in that passengers would leave standard subway cars at a nearby station and enter a specialized people mover to reach the airport itself. However, unlike the AirTrain, the Oakland Airport Connector will be operated by BART, and integrated into the BART fare system, with standard BART ticket gates located at the entrance to the station at the terminal end of the people mover. This extension is expected to be in service by 2008. wBARTA corridor study of extending the service north from the Richmond BART & Amtrak Station. Options include:
BART is "connected" to Oakland International Airport via AirBART shuttle buses which connect travellers to the Coliseum/Oakland Airport BART station. Smaller services connect as well, including the Emery Go Round in Emeryville and WestCat in northwestern Contra Costa County, WHEELS (Livermore), Benecia Transit (Benicia), Union City Transit (Union City), VTA Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (Silicon Valley), and TriDelta Transit (Eastern Contra Costa County). The bus service connecting the University of California, Berkeley to the Berkeley BART station was once called Humphrey Go-Bart. External links |
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